Plant of the Month

Plant of the Month for December
English Ivy

Hedera helix

December, and the ‘death’ of the year has been a time for celebration and festivity for thousands of years - throughout this time Ivy has been intimately connected with these revelries.

Greek legend has it that a dancing girl performed with such abandon before Dionysius that she fell dead at his feet. The god, moved by this dance and pity for the girl, turned her into Ivy so that she could entwine whatever was near her.

The Romans associated the plant with Bacchus and the drunken revels of the bacchanalian. For Christians, however, Ivy’s need to cling for support is emblematic of humanity's need for divine assistance, and also represents eternity and resurrection - a symbolism that it also had for the ancient Egyptians, for whom it represented the resurrection of Osiris.

Hedera helix, ‘The English Ivy’, is one of 10 species that make up this genus of evergreen, woody-stemmed, self-clinging climbers whose juvenile foliage displays the typical 3-lobed leaf. These are to be found on all parts of the plant that are in the shade and those that are climbing. Once the Ivy reaches the top of its support and reaches the light it produces mature wood, loses its ability to climb, and produces simplified, unlobed leaves. The greenish yellow flowers are produced in ball shaped inflorescences from September to November and provide an important late season source of nectar for bees garnering their last stores of honey prior to winter. The flowers are followed by black berries that can be seen throughout the winter and which provide an important food reserve for wintering birds.

Horticulturally, English Ivy is a very variable and useful plant. The smaller leaved kinds such as the white edged and blue green H. helix ‘Glacier’ or the dark green, yellow centred H. helix ‘Gold Heart’ make excellent hanging basket or container plants, as well as extremely good ornamental climbers. In addition to is usefulness in the above situations, Ivy can also be used as a shade tolerant ground cover plant. One of the best for this use is H. helix ‘Hibernica’ sometimes known as the Irish or Atlantic Ivy. On walls and in trees Ivy provides excellent cover for nesting birds as well as a home for the pretty, blue, Holly-Ivy moth which will thrive if both Holly and Ivy are planted near to each other.

Let's scotch the myth that ivy pulls down walls and strangles trees, it does not. True, if your mortar is loose and the wall poorly maintained the weight of the Ivy may pull out any loose bits. If however the wall is sound, a cladding of Ivy will protect the wall from the weather and preserve it. The same applies to trees, Ivy is not a twiner so its habit of growth does not constrict the development of branches or trunk, however once it gets high in the canopy it may cover branches and restrict the availability of light so it is wise to trim the ivy before it reaches high into the tree.

Go on, show some festive cheer, and plant Ivy for Christmas! A merry Christmas and a happy New Year to all our readers!